Liberated Brother: Weldon Irvine

“I wanted to give you more than you can get from reading liner notes,” says the Brooklyn-based filmmaker, Victorious DeCosta, who devoted four years to making a documentary on the enigmatic jazz-funk legend Weldon Irvine. 

“I wanted it to probe the emotions of Weldon and the emotions of artists who are forgotten," DeCosta says. "I think it’s a story that plays well because you don’t need to be an artist, or a jazz head, to dig and relate to [it].”

Digging for Weldon Irvine is a powerful and affecting look at a chameleonic talent who co-wrote "To Be Young,Gifted and Black," and whose 40-year music journey found him exploring the spectrum of African American music. The late jazz improviser was a searching soul— at age 50, he reinvented himself as a rapper, “Master Well,” and collaborated with Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

For Richmond Magazine, I recently had the chance to interview DeCosta, and talk about his excellent film. You can read the piece right here. 

And you can find out more about Digging for Weldon Irvine by clicking this spot. 

(Photo courtesy Victorious DeCosta)